‘Peter Pan’: Just a little bit of pixie dust

Emily Yetter spends 30 minutes of her performance suspended in the air. She’s not a trapeze artist — she plays a remarkably true-to-life Tinkerbell.

Though “Peter Pan” is of course a fantasy story, this production can be called “realistic” for two reasons: First, it’s closely based on J. M. Barrie’s original book, published in 1904. Second, the characters really soar through the air, across an enormous, 360-degree video screen.

“When the characters fly through London, the audience feels like it’s flying through London too,” says Yetter, who is a Marblehead native. The high-resolution ceiling is three times bigger than an Imax theater’s screen. The panoramic screen plus flying up to 30 feet in the air make for an unusual stage experience.

“You not only have to concentrate on what you’re doing with the wires and making sure you’re safe,” Yetter says. “You also have to make sure it looks good while you do the scene.”

For flying purposes, Yetter wears a harness under her costume, but she’s not hooked to a wire when just moving about the stage on foot. When it’s time to take to the air, she has to casually clip up.
“It seems kind of anti-acting, but you make it part of your character,” Yetter explains.